Playtime
by Lordoftheghostking28
Summary: I fear to imagine what inhuman thoughts lie behind that mask


**Playtime**

_I fear to imagine what inhuman thoughts lie behind that mask_.

A few hours ago, Spy would have prevented his imagination to wonder any further. Now, he found himself forcing his attention onto that very thought. After all, it was thinking like that monster that allowed him to escape in the first place. The other members of his team weren't quite so fortunate.

Spy uncloaked amid a pile of boxes in the shadowy BLU base. For quite some time, there had been only silence amid the usually bustling fortress. It was all due to that…that thing…that wiped out the source of the noise. Spy thought back, calculating his next move.

…

…

_It had been a slaughter. The masked monster had come in the middle of the night; first targeting the tank of the team. From what Scout and Engineer had told Spy, it was over quickly. According to the Texan, Heavy had burned in his sleep, only waking when the flames engulfed his bones. His last seconds had been in agony. Demoman's fate wasn't much different, except he had managed to land a hit on the pyromaniac. Not a very powerful blow, but still enough to do a bit of damage. The light wound was what allowed Engineer to escape with a head start; the only one from the defense dorm to make it out alive. _

_He had gone to warn the next closest dorm, that being the one of Scout, Soldier and Pyro. Upon arriving, he found Scout, still awake and slightly confused. Engineer told him what happened and set about waking Soldier and Pyro…but his warnings came too late. With a burst of crimson and aqua flames from the doorway, fire caught ahold of the peeling wallpaper and began spreading through the dorm. Another burst of flame knocked the door down, revealing the masked figure silhouetted against the smoke and flames like an angel from Hell._

_Another waterfall of fire, this time igniting Soldier where he stood. The man screamed and dropped to his knees, trying in vain to stop the burning. Scout shot twice, hitting nothing. The smoke was so thick it burned their eyes almost as much as the flames burned their skin._

_It wasn't long before Soldier was dead but still burning, Scout hid beneath Pyro's bed as his fellow BLU tried fruitlessly to drive the other firespitter back. The stench of smoldering skin, clothes and hair was overwhelming, forcing Engineer back into the hall and into the rogue RED Pyro's vision. With a scream ending in a forced gurgle, he was no more. The Pyro walked off, victorious, having not located Scout. That was the only reason he had survived…_

…

…

_The boy was quick and resourceful_, Spy thought to himself. _If it wasn't for him, I would have never escaped. If we live to see the light of day and not of fire…I'll have to thank him_.

But even with Scout's warning, it came too late. The Pyro arrived seconds after him, forcing him running down the hall with a fiery inferno after him. What followed next would haunt Spy to his grave.

…

…

_Spy managed to grab his watch and knife before the fire engulfed his bed. He stood in a corner, cloaked, completely silent as he watched the events unfold in front of him. He was powerless to stop them._

_Sniper was the most unfortunate of the three. He was already ablaze, skin and clothing melting in the intense fire. He dropped to the stone ground, clawing with blistered and bleeding hands at the cold granite that offered no relief. And then, in a swirl of white amid the black haze that now covered the room like a blanket, Medic stood over him, MediGun in hand and a determined look on his face. Sniper's multiple burns healed, skin reforming over his singed bones. Medic himself sported bleeding burns, but he didn't seem to feel the pain. _

_The RED Pyro tilted its head, as though confused. Then, very slowly, it dropped the flamethrower it was holding and pulled an axe from its sheathe on its back. It raised the weapon and brought it down with surprising speed, cleaving Medic's shoulder from his body. The MediGun fell from his grasp, his dismembered hand still clutching it. A almost inhuman scream left his throat as the Pyro lifted its weapon again and brought it down, this time on his forehead. _

_Medic dropped like a stone over Sniper's half-conscious form. The Pyro sheathed its axe again and retrieved the flamethrower, reducing both bodies to a pile of ash. _

…

…

Spy clutched his knife tightly and peered around the stack of boxes, certain he had heard a noise. When his suspicion proved to be false, he returned to his original crouching position, his knees beginning to ache. If he had just stepped up and offered some assistance…at least two other members of his team would be alive. But here he sat, alone and companionless, a coward at heart.

"There was nothing I could do…" he muttered to himself. He found himself hoping Scout was still alive.

Speaking of the boy, where would he have run off to? Spy had a pretty good idea where he could currently be taking shelter. He cloaked and stood, taking a few precious seconds to stretch before running off. They were going to need everything they could get to destroy this monster.

The cracking of flames made Spy stop and duck behind a supply barrel. He glanced out around it as footsteps drew closer.

The RED Pyro was standing where he had been crouching mere seconds ago. It glanced around the boxes as though trying to find something. It eventually shook its head and hefted its flamethrower, setting fire to the pallets. Spy ducked completely behind the barrel he was hiding behind. Even though he was still cloaked, he didn't want to take any risks. Light danced across the walls as the monster laughed, lifting its weapon triumphantly above its head.

Just as quickly as it had come, it vanished again. The only sound was the crackling of the wooden boxes as they disintegrated in the heat. Spy stood and followed after the Pyro, knife still clutched in his now shaking hand.

It was fairly easy to track it; singed footprints paved an easy trail. Spy crept up behind it as it looked inside a wheelbarrow, knife raised to plunge into its back.

It must have known.

The Pyro whipped around, its flamethrower slamming into Spy's left side. Spy uncloaked in the confusion and jumped backward as a pillar of flames shot at him, igniting his sleeves. He panicked, slicing at his arms with his own knife. He succeeded in avoiding any serious burns at the cost of self-inflicted incisions.

The Pyro tilted its head again…an innocent yet so twisted gesture. Its gaze seemed to be fixed on the bleeding lines on Spy's arms as it raised its flamethrower again.

"Hey, dumbass!"

The Pyro shifted its gaze from Spy to just over his shoulder. Something white and hard sailed over Spy's head, barely missing the top of his mask. A baseball collided with the RED's throat, eliciting a faint gurgle.

Spy spun around. "Move! Quickly!"

"Hurry! Let's go!" Scout shouted, turning and running.

Spy was close behind him. Even closer behind him, the Pyro had recovered and was on their tail. The air behind Spy seemed awfully hot…

"Come on! Come on! _Come on_!" Scout was running backwards, a look of genuine fear on his face. Spy could see the bright flames reflected in his eyes…

Something sharper than a thousand knives sunk into Spy's back, spreading over his entire body. Fire so hot it was cold raged around his torso, licking at his suit and tearing it away with icy claws. He was so surprised by this…how beautiful it was…there was almost an art to it…

Spy stopped running. Fire curled around his body, pulling him into an endless inferno. Blazing wings curled around him like a cocoon, sealing him off from Scout's terrified gaze…

Agony.

What the fire lacked in mercy, it made up in pain. Indescribable, white-hot agony tore through Spy's brain, driving him to his knees. He could no longer scream…the hot air was depriving him of any essential oxygen and burning his throat. The beauty the fire once had was gone, replaced with the hell it was known to bring.

And above the cracking of the flames, he heard one thing.

"SPY!"

And then nothing at all.

…

…

**XxXxXxXx**

**I had this idea forever…I guess I just cracked enough to finally write it down.**

**I hope you all enjoyed! Please tell me what you thought! Maybe I'll do more little short stories like this!**

**Hasta la Vista, Readers!**

**Lordoftheghostking28**


End file.
